Search continues for pregnant Central Falls woman with disabilities

Monday

Oct 14, 2013 at 8:15 PM

CENTRAL FALLS — The search continues for a 21-year-old pregnant woman with developmental disabilities who disappeared last week. Family and friends held a news conference Monday asking the public for help finding Luisa Pena Berroa, saying they fear s

By Alisha A. Pina

CENTRAL FALLS — The search continues for a 21-year-old pregnant woman with developmental disabilities who disappeared last week.

Family and friends held a news conference Monday asking the public for help finding Luisa Pena Berroa, saying they fear she had been taken.

The Pawtucket police and family say she was last seen last Wednesday, but their reports differ as to where. Family spokeswoman Iraida Williams said she was at her aunt's house in Providence, while Pawtucket Major Arthur Martins said the initial police investigation indicates she was last seen in Pawtucket.

“There is no evidence to support she’s been abducted so far, but if anyone has information, we would like them to call us,” Martins said.

Williams said the day before she disappeared, Pena Berroa went to Central Falls High School — from which she graduated in January — and told a teacher she had been “raped” by three men.

A school official brought Pena Berroa, who family members say is three-months pregnant, to the Pawtucket Police Department, Williams said, adding that a police report was filed before Pena Berroa was taken to a local hospital.

Martins confirmed a report had been filed but would not discuss it “due to the sensitivity to the case.”

Because of Pena Berroa's disabilities and speech impediment, Williams said, “we can't put it all together. We do know when she came to school, she looked horrible and was lethargic. She just threw herself on the teacher and was crying and crying. ... Someone did something.”

Williams, a family support coordinator at the Sherlock Center for Disabilities at Rhode Island College, has worked with Pena Berroa since 2003 and has been helping her transition into adult programs.

“We want people to help,” said Miguel Berroa, her uncle. “We need her back. We are all suffering.”

He described her as 5 feet, 7 inches tall and about 170 pounds. A flier distributed by the family and posted on Pena Berroa’s Facebook page depicts her as dark-skinned with dark hair pulled back from her face. She often takes buses to get around, the family said.

Family, friends and volunteers have conducted street-by-street searches in three communities — Central Falls, Pawtucket and Providence — since Wednesday, the family said. Miguel Berroa said they stayed out until 1 a.m. Monday.

The Providence and Central Falls Police Departments are helping Pawtucket with the investigation, Martins said.

“To those who took her, please just bring her back,” said Annisbel Berroa, Luisa Berroa's cousin. “She can't defend herself.”

The family asks that anyone with information contact the Pawtucket Police Department at 401-727-9100 or Williams at (401) 465-2838.